Island



Feb. 9, 1926. 1,572,591

, J. W. CANNON APPARATUS FOR BURNING LIQUID FUEL Feb. 9 1926. l 1,572,591

J. W. CANNON APPARATUS FOR BURNING LIQUID FUEL Fild May 29l 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 9 1926. 1,572,591

J. w. CANNON APPARATUS FOR BURNING LIQUID FUEL T/UUUUUU- Feb. 9 1926.

1,572,591 J. w. CANNON APPARATUS FOR BURNING LIQUI-D FUEL:l

Filed May 29, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 l N N N N N N gf s N@ N N N N 77 #g N N. W NP lf Q N w N (n @n f/l/Wzaf' Patented Feb. 9, I1926.

UNITED STATES i JOHN W.^CANNON, F PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

APPABATS FOR BURNING LIQUID FUEL.

Application led May 29, 1925. Serial No. 33,626.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOHN W. CANNON,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Providence, in the count. of Providence and State of Rhode Islan have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Apparatus for Burning Liquid Fuel, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference-being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to -an apparatus for burning liquid fuel, such as oil, and has for its general 'object to secure complete combustion of such fuel and to obtain maximum heating efficiency therefrom. -Further and more limited objects of the invention will be pointed out inthe specification. As disclosed herein, the process is realized in. and through the operation 'of an apparatus which has been found to be particularly adapted for house-heating purposes and in conjunction with a centrifugal type of burner for oilhereinafter referred to specifically as typifying the liquid fuel.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1 represents a sectional elevation of a system or apparatus embodying my invention and by means of which my process is realized; Fig. 2 a central vertical sectional view of the burner employedin such apparatus;

Fig. 3 a plan view' of the burner, the cap being removed yand certain parts being broken away; Fig. 4 a detail in-vcrtical section through a part of the burner; Fig. 5

a vertical sectional view through the diaphragm valve which controls the flow of Water to the steam enerator; Fig. 6 is a sectional view throng the steam generator; and Fig.' 7 a similar view through the bypass tank for the oil supply to the burner.

Describing the variousv parts by reference characters, 1 represents the main oil tank of the system, connected by pipes 2 .a nd 3 with a smaller elevated siphon checktank 4, from the lower part of Awhich a pipe 5 leads to the inlet side of a pulnp 6 driven by a motor 7, the motor indicated being any standard electric motor driving the pump 6 through a shaft 8. The pipe 2 is provided I with a downwardly-seating check valve 2*,

and is connected with the pipe 5, in the tank 4, by an elbow 5. The elbow is also provided with a small vent 48L and the tank with a filling plug 4".

9 denotes a ipe delivering oil from the 55 outlet side of t e pump to the by-pass tank 10, from which tank a pipe 11 leads to an atomizer B within the burner, indicated generally at A. From the tank 10 another pipe 12 leads to the top of the tank 4. A 60 pipe 13 leads from the pipe 9 to the upper end of a diaphragm valve-chamber 14, the lower end of said chamber being provlded with a pipe 15 which receives water from any source of supply, as the city main. From the delivery side o'f the diaphragm valve chamber, a pipe 15a conducts the water passing therethrough to a steam generator 16, within the. re pot of a furnace or heater 17, the particular furnace shown being indicated as an ordinary vapor or steamfgenerator having an annular chamber or water leg 18. The pipe 15*l is provided with a globe valve 15b, whereby the water supplied tothe generator may be controlled by the diaphragm valve as well as regulated by the hand-operated valve.

From ,the steam generator 16, a pipe 19 conducts the steam to the atomizer B within the burner A.

The burneris of the centrifuga-l type, comprising generally a cover which is secured vto a vertical shaft 20, and a bottom plate, the bottom plate of the burner being spaced from the top or cover of the burner to provide a slot therebetween fory the discharge of the combustible mixtureI by ccntrifugal action, the cover and the bottom ,being connected by fan blades. The bottom of the shaft 20 is provided with a bevel 9 gear 20 meshing witha bevel pinion 21a on a shaft 21 driven by the motor 7 The details of the various parts of the system or apparatus thus outlined will be set forth at length and under appropriate sub-headings.

Burner constmwtz'on. y The burner A comprises a cover having an outer` ring 22 (preferably cast), and a cap 100 23 fitted over a vertical flange 22a at ther central portion of said ring. The ring 22 is connected lby ribs 24 with a hub 25 which is rigid with the shaft 20. The ring or plate 22 is also provided with a recess-22b inthe under face thereof in which an annular plate 26 is secured, as by means of rivets 26a. The plate 22 has secured thereto the upper ends of the fan blades 27, the blades being such as are used with centrifugal fans. Each blade 27 is provided with a step27,

a short distance below the plate 26, and these steps support the peripheral portion of the bottom plate of the burner, indicated generally at C, the blades extending through the peripheral vportion of the bottom plate and having their bottoms fastened to a plate 28 surrounding and spaced from the bottom plate C.

lThe bottom plate C as shown herein is given a conformation which not only provides a comparatively narrow peripheral slot C with the ringvor plate 22, but which admits air freely tol the space between the top and bottom members and prevents the mixture delivered to such space from being drawn out of the burner by the action of the lower fan provided by the blades 27 and theplate 28 and the peripheral portion 29 ofthe plate C. It will be noted that the peripheral partI 29 of the lower plate 1s substantially parallel to the plate 26, providing therewith a narrow peripheral slot for delivering the mixture into the re pot D. From the inner end of such peripheral portion 29, the plate C extends downwardly and inwardly, as shown at 30, and is then bent upon itself, at 31', and extends upwardly parallel with the axis of the shaft 20 and spaced from said shaft, the upwardly extending portion or flange of the plate being shown at 32, thus roviding a. trough C2 at the central portion of said plate. The burner is located above an opening 33a in a deck or Hoor'33 which closes the bottom of the lire pot I), except for the said central o ening. The opening is approximately o the same diameter as the diameter ofthe upper and lower plates of the burner. The space between the plates 22 and C is supplied with a mixture of oil and steam from the atomizer B, the details of which will now be described. As oint-` ed out hereinbefore, the water is con ucted to the generator 16, shown in l`ig. 6, it being noted that this generator is shown as a simple receptacle into the bottom of which water is delivered by the pipe 15n and from the top of which steam is taken by the pipe 19' to the atomizer.

It will be noted that, by supporting the burner from the shaft 20 by means of the ribs 24, connected to the upper ring or plate 22, avpractically free and unobstructed open center is provided for the supply of `air steam and atomized oil between the upperl and lower parts of the burnerproducing an intense concentrated flame extending substantially horizontally from the burner to the fire ring 33a and upwardly from said ring and in suspension in the fire pot.

This not only secures perfect combustion of the-oil, without the accumulation of carbon or soot within or upon the burner and the boller, but also prevents the destruction of or injury to the burner and boiler and the parts thereof by the flame. Furthermore, by constructing and operating the burner in the manner described, I am enabled to run the burner at a materially reduced speed, as compared with burners of similar types, therebyl enabling me to prolong the life of the moving parts and economize in the use of current for the motor without sacrificing any of the advantages pointed out hereinbefore.

Reference has been made heretofore to the particular shape of the bottom plate C of the burner. In small installations, it will be given the shape shown herein, with the deep trough C2, formed by the walls 30 and 32, surrounding the shaft 20. In larger installations, however, this trough may be comparatively shallow; and in both cases the construction prevents the combustible mixture between the plates 22 and C from being drawn around the inner edge thelower fan which is provided between the' peripheral portion 29 of the lower plate and the plate 28. In both large and small installations, however, a narrow air way will be provided between the top of the inner wall 32 of the'ti'ough and the inner edge of the ring 22. Because of the fact that the superheated steam and atomized oil are delivered forcibly into the trough in the form of a mist, there is danger that the large fan provided beneath the bottom plate C by the blades 27 will draw the fuel mixture from inside the burner beneath theplate C. By extendingthe inner wall 32 of the trough upwardly so as to provide a narrow air way between such upper edge and the inner edge of the plate 22, this undesirable action will be prevented.

Oil atomz'zz'ng and mimi/ng device.

. tinuation of the steam pipe 19, and a vertical passage 11a constituting an extension of the oil pipe 11. Steam is delivered from the top of the passage 19 into a transverse or horizontal passage 34, which passageway has a relatively restricted inlet end 34I but is of increasing cross-sectional area toward its intersection withthe top of the passage 11. This arrangement enables the steam which is delivered from the top of the passage 19 to expand as it flows through the passage 34 and enables the steam to operate in a most eiicient manner upon and for. the atomization of the oil delivered from the top of the passage 11a. The duct comprising the passages 34, 34a and 34b delivers the mixture into a nozzle 35, the lower end of which projects downwardly within the space between the walls and 32, as indicated at 35a. The nozzle is shown as connected to the mixer B bymeans of a By-pass tan-7c.

In order to insure eliicient operation of the burner under all ordinary incidents of use, the pump should be-- capable of supplying a.

sufiicient quantity of oil to enable the burner to operate under its maximum capacity. In order to accommodate the system for variations in kburner oil-supply without the necessity for changing the speed at which the pump is driven, I provide the by-pass tank referred to, such by-pass tank enabling oil which is pumped from the tanks 1 and 4, but which is not required for the burner, tobe delivered back into the tank 4 and thence into `the tank 1. l

The by-pass tank, indicated generally at 10 (see Fig. 7) is provided with an inlet 'connection 38 with which the pipe 9 communi-k cates, the'wall of the tank having such connection being provided with a passa-ge 39 extending downwardly from said connection and then inwardly,l as shown at 39, a short distance above the bottom of the tank. Across the upper part of the tank and below the top thereof there extends a rib 40 provided with a. passage 41 the delivery end of which communicates with a connection 42 for the pipe 11 leading to the atomizer B. The passage 41 is provided with a pair o valves 43 land 44, each provided with a cover, indicated at 45, which covers can be locked in place so that one of the valves may be set in a position to prevent more than a certain quantity of oil frompassing to the mixer or atomizer. The passage 41 receives oil from the chamber therebeneath through a vertical passage 41a formed in the rib and in a bushing 46, the lower end of which bushing cooperates with a valve seat 47 carried by the short arm 48 of a bent lever the long arm 49 whereof projects in front of the deliveryr end of the passage 39, 39a, the lever being pivoted near the rib 40, as shown at 50. A partition 51, extending from the tank wall having the connection 38 and partition wings52 carried by the lever 49 provide an expansion and sediment chamber 53 in the lower part of the tank 10. This chamber serves to slowv the velocity of the oil entering the by-pass tank, prevents the surging ofthe oil in the passage 41 and also enables the sediment entering said chamber to be delivered to the passage 54 and returned to the tank 1 without entering the passage 41 and the burner. The Vwall of the tank 10 which is opposite the connection 38 is provided with a vertical passage 54 extending from the bots tom of the tank to the top thereof and having its upper end connected to the pipe 12 which leads to the Siphon check tank 4. In the top of the by-pass tank is a chamber 55 which delivers air liberated from the loil into the passage 54 through a port 55 The valve arrangement ensures the closing of the passage 41 as soon as the pump stops, thereby preventing siphoning of oil to the burner;

vit also prevents the Valve 47 from sticking.

Control of water by oz'Z pressure..

Reference has been made hereinbefore to the control of the water to the generato-r 16 by the pressure of the oil delivered from the pump 6. The manner in which this result is obtained will be explained in connection with Fig. 5 wherein 14 denotes the lower or bodyr portion of the diaphragm valve chamber andv 14a the cover for said chamber, the diaphragm 56 being clamped between the parts 14 and 14. 57 denotes a rod which is connected to a disk 57a onA the bottom of the diaphragm and which extends through a.V stuffing box 58 at the bottom of said chamber and carries a yoke 59 having the valve 60, the yoke being provided with an extension 60*l guided within a bushing 61 which is threaded into the bottom of the chamber 62 I the burner vapors that may remain,'and the cleanness of parts.

`With the parts constructed and arran ed as described, the operation will be as ollows: The motor 7 being started, the shafts 8 and 21 will be driven, the forme-r shaft operating the pump which will deliver oil from the storage tank 1 into the tank 4 and thence to the pump inlet. Oil from the pump outlet will be delivered through the pipe 9 into the by-pass chamber 10, whence the quantity necessary for the operation of the burner willbe conducted to the atomizing and mixing device B through the pipe 11, the remainder of the-oil, in excess of such burner supply, being delivered from the by-pass tank through the pipe 12 into the tank 4, whence any excess of oil may flow into the tank 1. In its passage through the tank 10, any sediment that may be in the oil is kept out of the burner pipe-line 11, and surging, or fluctuations in pressure, of the oil deliv- A ered into the burner are avoided. Part of the oil delivered from the pum will fill the pipe 13 and will operate the iaphragm 56 to open the valve 60, permitting water from the main (or other source of supply) to flow through the pipe -15 and past the globe valve 15" into the generator 16.

Prior to operating the burner, the generator may be heated by any source of: heat, as a torch, to rovide steam necessary, for the initial atomizing of the oil; or the burner may operate, as is the case with burners of this general type, with a mixture of-oil and air until the generator is heated suficiently by the flame from the burner to generate superheated steam, after which the steam will atomize and be mixed with the oil in the manner described hereinbefore, and the mixture of steam, air and atomized oil willA be thrown from the slot C provided between the upper and lower plates, this ,action being facilitated by constructing the burner on the principle of a sirocco fan. lhe additional air for completing the combustion. will' be thrown into the fire pot,

' beneath the flame, b the fan provided by the lower portions o the blades 27 and the plates 28 and 29.

The operation of the apparatus thus described accomplishes a process of burning the oil which consistsbroadly in supplying to a revolving centrifugal distributing oil burner a mixture of steam, atomized oil and air, the practice of this general process resulting in a complete and concentrated combustion vof the oil, with an elimination of the roaring or drumming-noise which is usually attendant upon the operation of burners of this kind and with a complete combustion of the oil, without any deposit of carbon or soot within the burneror within the parts of the boiler or other apparatus heated thereby and without ,injury to the burnerand the boiler by the flame Furthermore, the use of steam in the manner described, in burners of this type, positively prevents any flashing back of the flame within the burner, 'an action whichhasI characterized burners of the general type of that shown and described herein. The prevention of flashing back is further insured by the velocity of the fuel mixture through the space provided between the upper and lower burner members. The mixture of atomized oil, air and superheated steam enters the space at great velocity, is greatly expanded 1n such space; and iiows through the narrow slot C at such velocity as will prevent the propagation of flame into such space.

Also, in the practice of my process, by using superheated steam (at approximately 1000u F.) and delivering the mixture of the 'same with atomized oil and air into the space or chamber formed between the burner plates, I am enabled to effect a gasification of the oil, as soon as the burner becomes heated to approximately normal operating temperature, and the burner thus operates to deliver gas .into the fire pot.- This gasification is facilitated by the heating of the upper burner late 22 and cap 23 by the combustion Wit in the fire pot and the transmission of the heat from these parts to the gasifying mixture within the burner. By locating the atomizer B Within the burner and particularly in the central portion thereof, the atomizer is protected from destruction by the parts 22 and 23 thercabove from the extreme heat within the combustion chamber, being also cooled by the air which Hows upwardly within the inner wall 32 of the trough A. Furthermore, the parts are located so that only a short nozzle or conduit 35 need be employed to deliver the superheated steam and atomized oil into the burner trough.

Y It should be noted that, in the operation of theA process, the steam is delivered across the top of the oil passage 1l, at substantially right angles thereto. verlhe use of the by-pass enables me to feed the oil slowly, or under a comparatively light pressure, to the point Aat which thesteam encounters thel oil and thus enables the steam to operate in a most etlicient man-nei` in atomizing the 4oil. Furthermore, in the o )eration of my process, it should be note Water to the generator 16 (and hence the supply of steam to the mixing and atomizing device B) is controlled in part by the pressure of the oil which is delivered to the said device. The apparatus and process described herein have proven to be of great eiliciency in securing perfect combustion of oil without injury to the burners and the heating appliances with which the burners are as sociated', and in securing maximum eliiciency that the supply ofV frllom the'icombuston of a given quantity of o I claim is:

1. In a burner, the combination of an upper and a lower member arranged to prov1 e` a slotted peripheral outlet therebetween, the bottom member having a practically unobstructed central opening for the supply of air to the space between said members, a shaft projecting through said opening and having its upper end connected to the upper member, the upper vand lower members being connected whereby they may be-driven together by said shaft, an atomizing device located within the interior of the said burner, means for supplying oil 'structed central o ening and su erheated steam to said device, a nozzle or delivering the mixture of steam and atomized oil to the space between said members, and means for driving said shaft.

2. The combination, with a combustion chamber, of a burner located in said combustion chamber and exposed to the heat therein, the said burner comprising an upper and a lower member arranged to provide a peripheral outlet therebetween, the bottom member having a practically unobstructed central opening for the supply of air to the space between said members, a shaft projecting through said opening and havingits upper end connected to the upper member, the up er and lower members being connected w ereby they may be drivenv together by said shaft, an atomizing device, means for supplying oil and su erheated Huid to said device, a nozzle for elivering the mixture of superheated fluid and atomized oil to the space between said members, and means for drivin said shaft.

3. The combination, wit chamber, of a burner located in said com bustion chamber and exposed to the heat therein, said burner comprising an upper and a lower member arranged to provide a peripheral outlet therebetween, the bottom member having a practically unobor the supply of air to the space etween said members, a shaft projecting through said openings and having its upper end connected to the upper member, the up er and lower members be- Having thus described my invention, what a combustion' tween, the bottom plate having a downwardly extending trough the 'inner ywall whereof provides a passageway for air within the burner, a 'shaft projecting through said opening and having its upper end connected to the upper plate, the upper and lower plates being connected whereby they may be driven together by said shaft, an atomizing device located within the inner wall of the trough in the lower plate, means for supplying oil and steam to said device, a nozzle extending from said device and projecting downwardlly toward the bottom of said trough whereby the mixture of steam and atomized oil is delivered forcibly against the bottom of said trough, and means for driving said shaft.

5. In a burner, the combination of an upper and a lower member arranged to provide a slotted peripheral outlet therebetween, the bottom member having a downwardly extending trough the inner wall whereof projects upwardly to provide-a central passageway for air to the burner and a narrow air way between the upper edge of such inner wall and the upper member of said burner, a shaft. projecting through said opening land having its upper end connected to the upper plate, the upper and lower plates being connected whereby they may be driven together by said shaft, an atomizing device, means for supplying oil and superheated iuid to said device, a nozzle extending from said device and projecting downwardly toward the bottom of said trough whereby the mixture of superheated iuid andl atomized oil is delivered forcibly against the bottom of said trough, and

tween, there being fan blades connecting the l peripheral portions of said plates, a centrifugal fan projecting downwardly from the peripheral portion of the bottom plate, means for delivering a mixture of fluid and atomized oil to the space between said plates, the bottom plate being provided with an upwardly extending inner wall which defines a central opening within the burner and which provides a narrow air way between the top of the same and the upper plate'to preventY the withdrawal of the combustible mixture from the space between said plates by the downwardly projecting fan, and means for rotating said burner.

7. The combination, with a combustion chamber, of a burner within said combustion chamber and subjected to the heat thereof, said burner comprising an 'upper I and a lower plate arranged to provide 'a peripheral outlet therebetween, the lower plate having a central passageway for admitting air to the space between said `plates,

a -superheater in said combustion chamber, and the uppeil` plate, and means for delivan atomizing device located within the cenering the mixture of superheated steam and 10 tral opening ofthe lower burner plate, means atomized. oil from the atomizing device to, for conducting oil to said atomizin device, the space between said lates.

5 means for conducting superheatetd steam Intestimony whereo I hereunto aiix my from the superheater to said atomizing designature. vice, there being a narrow air way provided between the inner edge of the lower plate JOHN W. CANNON. 

